What Stands Between Love
by Gray Fox 2510
Summary: Sequel to The Love of a Girl. What happens when other don't share the same ideas and preferences that you do. A story about a second lesson in life. Completely rewritten now.


NeoPets, a vast and fantasy world inhabited by several species of little creatures known as, well, NeoPets too. It was a fun place at first, but I guess the feeling has to die sometime... This however does not means this story will drop from being one of my personal favorites. This, being not only my first take at simple and direct- fluffy- romance (With no other genres) was also my first shot at a Shoujo-ai story.

As mentioned above, this is a shoujo-ai. That, for those of you who don't know, is a female-female relationship but nothing explicit, that is no lemons or anything. Just that simple touchy-feeling. In this case, a story of my Shoyru, Ryoulon and an Acara named Rena.

Some of the characters I introduce here, such as Alan, my human persona (Yes, same name, but different look/characterization) is pretty much my property. Ryoulon and Rena are, in a matter of speech, my own as well, but the species concept is of course property of NeoPets.

So without much ado, let me give a final warning again. This is a shoujo-ai (remember, non-explicit female/female relationship). If you can't handle that for any reason (The overall lesbian genre, or the fact that they are not humans) you'll do well to leave now.

One last thing, even though this is the 4th time I update this story, it will now be referred as "Remastered." I worked on several plot points, probably added more things, had to cut some things... All in order to make it a one shot. And now it's V2.

_What Stands Between Love... - Chapters 1, 2 & 3 - The Opposition, Challenge & Confrontation  
Sequel to "The Love of a Girl."  
"Remastered"_

* * *

_Three months have passed already. Three months since we started getting together, walking paw-in-paw and holding each other. Three months since we first met, and I can't even begin to say just how wonderful this has been. No one saw a problem, none of our friends minded; but then again, why would they? This is our little relationship, one we cherish and nurture, the one we each care for more than anything else. And here I am, right next to my little, cute Acara. _She giggled softly, _She looks so cute sleeping! Everything is simply great, especially th- _She cut her train of thought as the sleeping Acara stirred next to her, before drowsily opening an eye, followed by the other before looking at the Shoyru above her in the eyes. With a smile, the Shoyru brought her lips to the dozy Acara. After a sweet kiss that lasted if only so very few moments, their lips parted before smiling away. They both got up in order to start a new day together. 

Leaving the room in which they had slept, they quickly noticed Alan in the table at the kitchen with a cup of coffee and the Neopian Times as per usual. Rena, the Acara, had spent the night in Ryoulon's house, which was very common nowadays; and Alan didn't minded at all as long as Ryoulon was safe and happy.

About to take a sip of his mug, Alan lowered it as he greeted the awaking pair of females, "Good morning," he said.

"Morning," Rena answered back.

"Good morning, dad," Ryoulon said at the same time as Rena, raising her paw a bit in the air before both of them sat in a chair by the table. "Slept well?" She asked, with a strange, dubious tone in her voice that could barely register in Alan's mind.

He grinned, suppressing a chuckle. "Everything was going fine, and then a... Scream, as I would call it, woke me up."

Rena visibly blushed, and hard. Her cheeks were completely painted in a red hue completely overwriting her standard cerulean fur. She lowered her head, trying to hide it. Ryoulon shoot a stern look at her father.

"Sorry," Alan quickly added. Having lowered the Neopian Times a few moments ago, he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"No, it should be me the one who apologizes," Rena quickly said back, looking up at the father of her girlfriend as the blush started to fade almost as fast as it had appeared.

Alan shook his head, "I shouldn't hav--"

"Ah, alright! If you both are just going to try to apologize one over the other then we might as well drop the subject," Ryoulon interrupted her father before the room fell in silence for a few moments.

Alan politely coughed behind his hand, "So, you two have any plans for today?"

Rena shook her head a bit, "Nothing too fancy. We might just end up walking down by Neopia Central."

"How about you?"

Alan looked at Ryoulon for a moment before raising his mug for another sip as he hummed. Having gulped down the coffee, he started, "I don't know. I might head out at some point in the day, but I can't really say I have anything planned. Something should come up in the meantime I suppose."

"Right," Ryoulon nodded. "Guess we two better start getting ready." Both girls stood up and walked back into Ryoulon's room.

Loosing her usual pajamas, which was actually only a very long cyan nightgown, Ryoulon quickly changed into a pair of grayish colored shorts, followed by a semi-loose white blouse and a pair of white sneakers. Rena on the other hand changed from a white pair of shorts and a silk blouse before getting into a pair of semi-baggy black jeans topped off with a red blouse and put on the only pair of sneakers she had right now with her since both outfits she had grabbed for the trip were set to match her footwear. Ryoulon walked to the table by the door and grabbed a golden bracelet Rena had bought for her some time ago, which she placed on her right wrist. The cyan Shoyru turned around to face Rena's back, but not before having grabbed a golden-colored necklace which she helped the Acara put on. With a smile, both girls nodded before heading out.

A simple, "Later," came from both, plus an added bow from Rena before both girls stepped out into the front yard. Ryoulon stretched a bit before taking a sudden step forward, landing only with one feet before jumping up in a twirl spreading her wings, but as she was turning around she caught the stern look in Rena's face aimed at her and she quickly dropped back to the ground.

"Sorry," the Shoyru flushed a bit, scratching the back of her head with a grin. "I guess old habits really die hard," she said before taking Rena's paw and walking away into Neopia Central.

----------

The day was perfect. A bit cloudy, but with the sun still out. The climate was warm, but cool at the same time; just wonderful for a day out walking with the one you love. Both girls had gone from shop to shop, not that they expected to find anything as it was more of a way of spending their time together out in the open. They were passing the Grooming Parlour, making their way to the Wishing Well in order to take the usual route to their secret spot by the hidden lake.

Rena, being on the left, turned her head to her right in order to look at the Shoyru, who was also looking back at her. They both ceased walking and closed their eyes, moving their heads closer... But Ryoulon suddenly pushed Rena away, strong enough to create some distance, but light enough so as to not to tumble her down. The Acara was surprised at the sudden action of her lover, but it didn't took her too much time before registering the reason of the push as dark Wocky tackled the air between them.

The lover couple quickly got back together, side by side, looking strangely at the female Wocky, who was now standing besides two other Neopets, a dark, male Gelert, and a dark, female Eyrie. Not only did they had their furs painted in pitch black, but all their clothes were also black. They were the walking definitions of the word "dark."

"So," Rena took a deep breath, looking down before closing her eyes. She wasn't really mad, just a tad bothered at the sudden behavior, and in the middle of Neopia Central... "What exactly did you do that for?" She lifted her head back up and opened them.

"What for?" The Wocky laughed in a rather strange fashion, almost in a mocking tone. "I'm sorry girl, but the reasons behind our actions are probably out of your grasp."

Ryoulon rolled her eyes, "Yes, I'm sure about that. So how about an apology so that then we can move on?" She asked with a somewhat stern look and a paw in her hip.

"There's no reason why we should," the Gelert answered, if only a bit too cold.

"What do yo--" Rena was going to speak, but the rudeness of their sudden assailants proved to be higher than they had expected as the Eyrie cut her off.

"Just be careful of the next time we see you two together. We won't go so easy next time, heh," the griffon-like creature cackled somewhat before all three of them started to walk away, turning their backs to the couple.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Ryoulon said with an obvious tone of sarcasm while readying her arms, getting in position for an air sprint... Rena held her back.

"Don't say you haven't been warned!" The Wocky yelled before all three somehow blended in with the crow.

"Meh," Ryoulon snapper her head sideways in a split second, "I could have taken them out..." She took a deep breath before shaking her head a bit. Looking up at the Acara she asked, "You ok?"

"Yes, I believe so. I just twisted my ankle a bit back there," she bent down, feeling around her right ankle with her paws. She stood up and tried to take a step before gritting her teeth and quickly bending down. "Ok, scratch that. I can barely walk," she sighed.

"Try to support yourself on me," Ryoulon said as Rena placed her left arm over Ryoulon's shoulders and used her for support before taking another step.

A sharp "Ah!" escaped her mouth as her right foot touched the ground once again before falling down to her knees again. "I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," Ryoulon planted a small kiss on her forehead. "I'm gonna try carrying you and fly back. We should be able to make it back to my place in about ten minutes from here, or you rather keep going to our secret spot?"

"I'm sorry, but I rather go back, I think I need to avoid using my right foot right now... You think you can resist the whole flight with me?"

"Won't know until I try," she grinned. Rena visibly face-faulted at the simplicity with which the Shoyru had spoken, but she also quickly added, "Don't worry, if I'm feeling tired I'll just fly down and rest." Rena sighed from relief after hearing that before Ryoulon, as best as she could, tried carrying the Acara. She wasn't too heavy, and Ryoulon was strong enough to defeat tough opponents in the arena, but she had never tried flying while carrying someone.

Ryoulon had only been in flight for about seven minutes and she was already panting audibly, straining her wings as much as possible to keep airborne. She hadn't rested at all in the whole flight (which was small, but it was becoming eternal for the weary Shoyru), nor did she wanted to, as the strain to get back up in flight would be worse than the one she was enduring right now. Were she alone, she could go on for hours on hours of flight, but that was certainly not the case while carrying someone else.

----------

The intense weariness that was eating through her body certainly bothered her, but in a way Rena made her feel better. Even if she was only hugging her that hard for dear life. Finally! She could see their house already, just about fifty meters ahead. With a second air that came out of nowhere, she flapped her small, dragon-like wings harder as they approached their destination. When she was finally in range, she started to dive; but not in her usual way, as it would just probably provoke a heart attack on the Acara in her hands. Instead she tried to go down at a more elevated angle.

Finally touching ground, Ryoulon felt as if all of her strength left her body just moments after Rena had left her grasp and was now sitting at the grass of the front yard. The cyan Shoyru only collapsed on the cool grass, breathing heavily. "You could have rested in the way, you know?" Rena said to the Shoyru as she left a kiss on her lover's cheek.

"No... sense... in that... Would only... get... more tired..." Ryoulon spoke between breaths before she could finally muster the energy to get up back to her feet. She offered a paw to Rena, who gladly took it and tried to put as little pressure as possible on the body of the weary Shoyru as she stood up. Her ankle still stung a bit, but it was a bit more bearable now. They made their way back into the house.

Reil, Ryoulon's Doglefox was running at the door but quickly skidded into a halt at the greeting of Ryoulon's face and look. The Doglefox smartly avoided jumping into her owner's paws, as they were not only occupied at the moment, but she looked horribly weary, so instead she just followed them around as Ryoulon led the cyan Acara into the couch at the living room.

"Let me look," Ryoulon got back down in the floor and took off Rena's right sneaker as best as she could to avoid hurting her lover. There was nothing visibly wrong, of course, but she decided to look just in case. "Well, there's nothing wrong, as it should."

"Don't worry, I'm feeling a bit better by now. Thanks for all," Rena kissed Ryoulon once more before mini-dragoness jumped back into the couch. Reil now used the time to also jump up and into her owner's embrace and lap. Rena laid her head on Ryoulon's left shoulder. "What do you think they meant with that last comment though?"

Ryoulon would have shrugged if possible, "Don't know, but I couldn't really care less," she smiled at Rena, who smiled back. "They have no right to tell us where and when we can be out and together." And that was the last the said about that strange incident as the conversation soon drifted away into other kinds of topics. Reil started purring at some point as she had fallen asleep on Ryoulon's lap; a behavion soon mimicked by the two Neopets who also decided to enjoy a quick nap in the company of their loved one...

----------

It was already night in Neopia, the moon casting it's white light from the sky into the streets.

Alan approached the steps of his home before opening the door. He didn't really expected to find anyone as he hit the lights on, but was somewhat surprised to find both Ryoulon and Rena, as well as Ryoulon's Doglefox, all three in the couch, sleeping peacefully. "Cute," he said with a smile as he made his way to the kitchen, making as less noise as possible.

Rena's small ears perked up before opening an eye. She turned sideways, careful of not rousing her sleeping lover and spotted Alan on the other side of the room by the kitchen. He waved at her while mouthing a silent "Sorry," but Rena smiled, lightly waving back. She tried getting up, resting both feet on the ground and grimaced silently as her right ankle stung her from the pain. Alan noticed and was about to head around to help her, but Rena shook her head while raising a paw. She made her way around the counter where Alan helped her to a chair by the table. He also sat down.

"Why are you back so early, if I may ask? I expected you wouldn't come until later in the night," Alan asked in a rather low tone.

Rena let out a barely audible sigh, "A small... Incident you could call it, I suppose..." She trailed off.

"Incident?" Alan asked, frowning at the Rena, with a slight worried look in his face. Rena proceeded to tell him about some of the events that had happened earlier that day with the three dark Neopets.

Alan grimaced a bit, "It's a shame you two had to go through that," he shook his head with dismay.

Rena smiled, also shaking her head a bit, "No, it's alright. We kind of expected something like this to happen sooner or later. After all, not many can't see beyond the fact that we both are female and look into what we really have together," she blushed at her own words as Alan smiled at her.

"I know three months is a rather small time, but you two really make a good couple," Alan grinned, making Rena's blush become more profuse in her cheeks.

"Gah, stop it," she said, trying to cover her blush behind a paw. "Thanks though," she said, still behind her paw, only her eyes above it. "We might be moving a bit too fast, at least by Neopian standards, but we couldn't be happier." She wasn't really helping herself; the more she spoke, the more her blush returned or hardened.

"It's good to he--"

Alan was interrupted as Ryoulon let out a small gasp in her sleep before suddenly opening her eyes and sitting completely upright. She chuckled to herself while lightly shaking her head before noticing Rena wasn't there next to her anymore. She quickly looked around and spotted both her and Alan by the kitchen table, both looking at her. You could easily notice the flush spreading on her cheeks even from the distance. "I... Err... You..." She stammered.

Both the Acara and the human let out a small laugh before the drowsy Shoyru walked around the kitchen counter and sat on a chair next to Rena, still carrying the now fully awake Dogglefox.

"Well, I believe you two know well by now it's not a good idea breaking up a fight in the middle of the streets, so just be careful."

"So, you found out about our little incident this afternoon?" Ryoulon asked, stifling a yawn behind a paw.

Alan nodded, "Don't let those three get the best of you, as long as you two are happy together, what the rest thinks shouldn't matter."

Both girls nodded, "Don't worry," Ryoulon said. "If they are so intent on picking up a fight, I'll be sure to take them to the arena. That way we can fight to our heart's leisure."

"Well, just be careful. I think I'll be calling it a day, I'm feeling somewhat tired from walking all day long," Alan said as he left his seat. With a "Good night," he lightly kissed Ryoulon's forehead before adding, "A good, silent night," as he walked to his room. This made Rena's cheeks get some color as Ryoulon chuckled.

----------

Both females entered Ryoulon's chambers.

"Ah! I forgot, I only brought two sets of clothes. I have nothing for tomorrow and I can't really get to my house with my ankle like this."

"Don't worry," Ryoulon kissed Rena in the cheeks, "We'll go to your place first thing in the morning. Your ankle should be feeling better by then. If not, well... The flight should be shorter..."

"Heh, thanks!" Rena hugged Ryoulon before kissing her squarely in the lips. They both quickly changed into their nightwear before jumping into bed...

----------

The next day, with the sun already hovering over the horizon, both girls woke up. Sharing another kiss they got up, switching back to a more normal outfit. Ryoulon got herself a new outfit, this one consisting of a blouse in a cyan a shade darker than her fur and a pair of normal jeans with blue sneakers. Rena had to wear the same clothes she had yesterday. If she could, she would grab something from Ryoulon's closet, as she wouldn't mind, but being different species made it a bit difficult. The pain from her ankle had gone thankfully.

Putting on their standard set of adornments; the bracelet for the Shoyru and the necklace for the Acara, as well as a handbag for each one, they left the room, being greeted by the human of the house, Alan, who as usual, was already at the table in the kitchen. This time only with a mug of coffee.

"Morning, dad! Sorry to go out so suddenly, we are just going to Rena's place so she can get some clothes, then we'll probably spend some of the day outside," Ryoulon declared as both girls walked in the direction of the door.

Nodding, Alan brought down his mug, "Can I get you two anything before you go?" Ryoulon at this point expected another funny remark from his part, so she was trying to hurry their way. "A drink? A small, quick breakfast?" A wide grin spread over his face, "How about I sound-proof the walls of your room, Ryoulon? Seriously, I thought I was going to have to do that a long time ago because you might end up listening to music very loudly..." He chuckled.

Ryoulon had to admit it was amusing seeing her lover blush like that, but she wasn't really about to tell her that. Instead, she quickly dragged her out to stop the suggestions.

----------

The walk to Rena's house was uneventful, thankfully. Aside from small conversation, a laugh or a giggle or two, nothing happened. Exchange of blushes leading into laughs from the other side, the usual for them at this point.

Finally, Rena's house was in sight. They didn't always slept together, at least not in Ryoulon's house, but the times over there far out- weighted the number in Rena's place, but none were higher than the number of times they hadn't spent together. Rena easily took out the key of her house from her purse and opened the door, letting the Shoyru step in before following her. Rena planted a light kiss on Ryoulon's forehead before walking to her room in order to change.

Ryoulon decided to do something in the meanwhile, aside from the idea springing into her mind from her rumbling stomach, and walked to the kitchen in order to prepare something for a somewhat late breakfast. After a few minutes Rena left her own chambers and was back in the kitchen, with a pair of normal colored jeans, a peach-like colored blouse, a pair of pink boots, even though only the bottom tip could be seen, and of course, her necklace.

The cyan Shoyru was done in the kitchen as well, or at least in making their breakfast. They quickly ate, but not hurriedly, and after cleaning everything left the house at about 12 in the afternoon.

----------

Both girls, like the previous day, where once again enjoying a day out in the company of each other. They were making their way to the Rainbow Pool in order to head into their secret place.

As they were approaching it, Rena started to speak, "Hey, do you still remember three months ago he-- Ugh!" Rena abruptly stopped as she was pulled back, restrained by the necklace against her neck before the pressure snapped it, breaking the grip and allowing her to breath again with a couple of pained coughs. Ryoulon didn't noticed the absence of the necklace as she held the kneeling Acara, patting her softly in the back as she tried to regain her composure.

Ryoulon's head turned to her side ever so slowly with a bothered look in her face. "You three again?" She sighed before noticing the broken necklace in the Wocky's hand, who was the one closest to them. Closing her eyes, she took a quick breath trying to regain her cool before opening them again and extending her right paw at them, "Return it," she made a motion with her hand to accompany her words, which sounded more like a threat than a question.

With a snicker, the Wocky only said back, "We told you not to wander around together," she was toying somewhat with the necklace in her right paw.

"And I just told you to return that necklace to me!" Ryoulon was not one to anger easily, but that necklace was a very special gift to Rena and not only did she NOT wanted them to handle it, but even less for them to break it.

"Give me one good reason why I sh-- Uff!" The Wocky started speaking, but was cut off in a very abrupt manner as Ryoulon had ran, jumped with a flap of her wings for added leverage, spun in mid-air, and delivered one of the fiercest round-house kicks in all of her life as a battler in the arena. The Wocky had no chance to evade the attack at all and was instead sent away into the ground, sliding over it for about a meter before finally stopping with the help of the Eyrie and the Gelert. The necklace had left her paw as she was struck and Ryoulon easily caught it while touching back the ground. This, needless to say, caught the attention of some nearby Neopets and humans alike, but she was beyond caring now.

Wiping a small trickle of blood from her lips, the Wocky stood up. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Like you are one to ask," Ryoulon retorted nonchalantly. Rena was behind the Shoyru, having recovered already, but fearing things might get uglier.

"Ryoulon," the Acara approached the Shoyru from behind and whispered to her, "We better go, there's no reason to do this."

"I know," Ryoulon answered back with a smile, "But there's no way they are stopping now and I'm not going to run away. You better get back," she kissed her in the cheek before turning around.

The Wocky's face got an evil edge to it before she decided to charge forward at the Shoyru, who easily sidestepped. The Eyrie followed suit, but got only air as Ryoulon ducked over the flying tackle, but wasn't so lucky with the side-kick from the Gelert as it managed to connect her in the legs, making her tumble to the floor.

The Wocky was about to pounce her, but Rena's elbow in her face made it difficult as she jumped away from the pain. Ryoulon quickly got up with a back-flip and brought her index finger to the front of her face and mumbled several words before snapping her paw forward, index pointing at the Eyrie before a small, black cloud materialized over her head, sending a small lightning at her, which she easily avoided. It was all just in order to distract her, as she was too busy evading the shocking energy before Ryoulon landed a right jab at her stomach, adeptly followed by an air, round-hose kick to the face, slamming the Eyrie downright into the floor.

The Gelert charged the Shoyru, making a direct right jab which Ryoulon easily parried before retaliating with a similar attack that the dog evaded to the side. Jumping, the Gelert made an attempt of a round-hose kick but Ryoulon evaded it with a back-flip. Just as she landed, she quickly charged forward, trying a heads-on ram but missed her target. Flapping her wings to bring herself to a stop, she turned around just to block a direct kick from the Gelert with a spin kick from herself before trying for a left uppercut that the Gelert deflected, and the fight carried on. And the fight carried on...

The Eyrie was still knocked out cold in the floor, much unlike the now standing Wocky who was exchanging attacks with the Acara. Rena, not really being a fighter or having been trained much in her life was at a disadvantage here, but she still tried her best as she parried some of the Wocky's attacks while making some of her own.

Ryoulon was figuring this would go nowhere. They would sooner tire out than successfully harming each other with a lucky attack so she was thinking of changing tactics. Seeing the way the Gelert usually parried her kicks, she tried to make a frontal right kick aimed at his abdomen. As expected, the Gelert grabbed her leg with both paws. Grinning, Ryoulon jumped with the aid of a flap from her dragon-like wings while spinning to her right in order to kick the Gelert in the face with her left leg. The attack succeeded, and the Gelert was knocked to his left from the force of the impact, but Ryoulon wasn't able to correctly land from the awkwardness of the attack and she also lost her balance, but she was able to recover fast.

Noticing the absence of the Wocky in the fight she turned around and saw the Wocky raining hell on Rena, who was just blocking the attacks by now, but getting noticeably wearier over time. Ryoulon brought both paws together with the index fingers up, while the rest where down, she mumbled several words before opening both palms and thrusting them forwards as a sudden jet of water fired off from thin air aimed at the Wocky.

The water, while being at a high pressure, stung the Wocky in the zone of contact, but didn't really do much damage. The point behind the attack was to distract her with a water splash to the face, which succeeded as Ryoulon took flight, quickly gaining an altitude of ten meters before diving down. The Wocky had barely finished taking the water out of her eyes before turning around. She was only greeted by Ryoulon as she swiftly spun upwards with a kick to her face before harshly landing, but still on her feet. The Wocky easily flew for at least two or three meters before it simply slammed into the ground, completely out cold.

The Shoyru gazed at the Acara; both were visibly panting from the workout, but Rena also presented several bruises from all the blows she had blocked. Ryoulon brought her right paw up to her face again, index finger up, middle finger bent halfway up and crossing her index finger before mumbling several words. Extending her paw to Rena, the Acara was soon encased in a soothing blue light that healed some of her bruises. The effect wasn't that incredible, as only a few bruises managed to get healed, but Ryoulon was not an expert at healing arts.

"Can't believe I actually got it to work with a one-night study," she chuckled, making the Acara cock her head sideways. She took a few steps closer to the final position of the Wocky before sighing, "I didn't really wanted to do this... But you left me no choice, sorry."

"We better get going before they wake up," Rena said, placing her right paw on Ryoulon's left shoulder. The crowd that had gathered around was leaving already.

The lesser dragon turned around with a smile, "We better drop your necklace off at a Jewelry Store first." Rena nodded to the offer before they walked away, quickly blending in with the crowd.

----------

Thankfully, there was a jewelry store not too far from their current position, so they left the necklace in their way back to Ryoulon's place. Most of the walk was spent in silence, save for a few random words here and there.

Having reached their destination, both girls entered to find Alan in the living room with a book in his hands. "Welcome ba-- What happened?" His tone suddenly changed from his standard one into a rather serious tone as he noticed the bruises on the girls.

"Ah yes..." Ryoulon started, lowering her head with a sigh. Looking back up, and approaching her father she resumed, "Remember those three 'dark' Neopets?" She knew well of the answer, but it was her own way of giving a heads-up.

"Yes, what about them?"

"Long story short... We found them again today, or more like they found us. They snapped Rena's necklace, making her choke somewhat in the process, the Wocky and I got into an arguments of sorts, then it ended with my foot, her face, and the floor..." She sighed.

"Then they started attacking us," Rena added. "Even though Ryoulon did most of the fighting, I had to fare against the Wocky for a while."

"I'm guessing they went down, then?"

Ryoulon nodded. "The Eyrie was no trouble at all. The Gelert was a good hand-to-hand fighter but I managed to make it through. The Wocky, after being weakened by Rena took only a diving upper kick before ending all."

"While I don't really approve of you fighting out in the open I guess you had no choice..." Alan said.

"You think I wanted to do that!" Ryoulon got a little misty-eyed. "You know perfectly well I hate fighting for things such as those. In the arena, with equal fights is one thing, but out in the open, for some stupid reason I don't even know!" She sniffled.

"I know you don't, and I wasn't reprimanding you. You just didn't let me finish," Alan kneeled as Ryoulon jumped at him in a hug as a few tears rolled out. "I'm sorry you two had to go through that again, but hopefully they learned their lection after this."

Ryoulon nodded with a small sob. Rena came from behind and placed a paw on her shoulder for reassurance.

"I'm sorry to leave like this, but I have to run some errands," Alan said, softly stroking the back of Ryoulon's head.

She shook her head, "Don't worry, I didn't mean to react like this." She left his embrace and wiped the tears that stained the fur of her face with one last, almost inaudible sob. "Take care," Ryoulon said with a smile.

"You two as well," Alan said before he left the house with a wave from Rena's paw.

The lesser dragoness jumped into the couch while heaving a long sigh. She was still a bit affected, but not so much anymore as she eyed some of the bruised her body showed. She fixed her sight on a particular bruise in her right arm, one that had been given to her by the Gelert. _It was a good thing I didn't had to take all three of them at the same time. Thankfully the Eyrie went down easily, much like the Wocky after Rena had weakened her. The Gelert was another story, _she frowned. _He was pretty fast, keeping up with all my moves and dealing them as quickly as he blocked mine... Nonethele-- _"Gah! Wait! Stop that!" Reil, her Doglefox decided her master had better things than to ponder about the events of her life, such more important matters being the Doglefox's attention.

The Shoyru could barely grab the squirming dog-fox crossbreed before setting it on her lap after a few laughs and giggles, which were also accompanied by Rena's as she sat next to her.

----------

"Damn..." A black Eyrie moaned as she stirred in the floor, showing off a few bruises and a burn mark or two. She tried to stand up, but the world was literally spinning for her... "World, please stop spinning..." She said before collapsing again. She took two deep breaths before trying to stand up again, barely succeeding as the world didn't seem to listen to her. She wasn't able to remain upright for a second before she went down into all four. They were getting no help from any NeoPet nearby mainly because those who had witnessed the whole fight had seen it was them who started things.

"Damned be that Shoyru..." The Gelert groaned popping open his eyes. He was about to try to stand up, using his paws to support himself, but as soon as he applied pressure to them he went wide-eyed and back to the floor he went as the pain shot through all of his body in his attempt of standing. He rolled around so he would be looking up at the sky before taking controlled breaths to try and ease the pain.

"I would suggest we get moving, but not only Karen isn't up, but I can't move very well..." The Eyrie spoke.

"At least you can move, Maya. I can't even twist a paw to stand up..." The Gelert sighed.

"Ugh..." The Wocky half-moaned in pain as she laid in the floor. She brought a wobbly paw to the back of her head to the point where the Shoyru had kicked her moments ago.

"Good morning," the Gelert spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Good fight, I'd say."

"Lang..." The Wocky started, "Shut up..." She had less trouble than the other two NeoPets in standing up, but much like the Eyrie, the idea of standing in her hind legs only was out of the question. With some effort, she walked towards the Gelert at which point she hissed at him before walking away. He chuckled before finally standing up; even if the pain almost killed him. They all three then started to walk away as Maya caught up to them somehow.

"They got us good now, but next time we'll be more ready," the Wocky sneered.

----------

Night covered the world of Neopia once more as per usual. Both Ryoulon and Rena were reading in the living room of Ryoulon's house. Ryoulon had grabbed a book from her book she had been procrastinating for a while now, and in the time it took her to find it the Acara had gone back to her home, for a book of her own as well as another pair of clothes for the next day.

No sooner than Alan had entered the house Ryoulon read the last words of her book, which abruptly and without warning, but expectedly, disappeared into a small cloud of gray smoke, which also disappeared in a matter of seconds. "Welcome back," she greeted her father.

"Thanks. Would you two like something for dinner? Because I'm famished..." Alan offered as Rena's book also disappeared in the trademark way of the standard Neopian book.

"For your cooking? I'm always up for it," Ryoulon grinned.

"If you wouldn't mind making an extra dish, I would appreciate it," Rena smiled with a nod.

"Of course, you two just sit tight and I'll be ready in a cinch."

----------

Dinner done, dishes washed and put away, a long talk and the clock marked past eleven PM by now. Weariness seeping into their bodies, Ryoulon and Rena both bid a "Good night," to Alan as they entered what now seemed to be more of their room than Ryoulon's room. And in their usual way, they both changed, kissed each other, and literally plummeted into bed. It didn't even took them seconds to actually fall asleep as they dreamt of each other with a smile on their face...

----------

Next day was just like any other normal morning. Rena was up and awake earlier than usual, but having nothing to do, plus being on someone else's house, regardless of if she almost lived in there by now, decided to stay in bed watching her lovely Shoyru sleeping. Five minutes however she rolled her eyes before she decided to lick the lesser dragoness' cheek once.

"No, Reil... Five more minutes..." The Shoyru groggily spoke as she squirmed a bit in bed, pulling the blankets over her. She then realized it hadn't been Reil the one who had licked her as she suddenly opened her eyes and was met with the biggest grin she had ever seen on Rena's face.

"Morning, sunshine," the grin continued in her face as Ryoulon stifled a laugh behind her paws before kissing the Acara.

"Morning." Both girls got up from bed an left the room after an embrace.

"Good morning, you two," Alan greeted from behind the table.

"Morning," both females greeted back before taking a seat in the table.

"Hold on," Alan got up and around the counter of the kitchen, he lifted the lids that covered two plates revealing a set of hot-cakes in each one. He brought back the plates to his daughter and her lover before getting two glasses and a carton of milk from the fridge. "Enjoy."

"Oh yeah, Sunday. I forgot you always do these on Sundays," Ryoulon grinned as she took a bite from her breakfast. "Hmm, as good as ever."

"Indeed," Rena added.

"Heh, thanks. So, Ryoulon, do you wanna go to the Battle Dome as usual, or you rather skip it this time?"

"Ah right, that's today too. Well, I feel a lot better now," and for added effect she extended and contracted her arms a few times just to be sure. "Yep, a lot better." She raised her head, deep in thought... "Hmm..."

"You should go," Rena said. "I'll tag along to watch you fight."

"Well... Alright, I just need time to get ready." Ryoulon resumed eating her breakfast, just like Rena. As soon as they were finished, she was sure to give Reil some food as well before going in to take a shower, followed by Rena as well. Ryoulon changed into very light clothing fit for the occasion: a pair of simple and plain dark blue shorts and a white shirt. Rena, thankfully, had brought also rather light clothing from her home for this day, a pair of brownish long shorts reaching to her knees and a white shirt with a small red heart on the sleeves.

Grabbing her Shoyru Battle Sabre and Shield, she fastened them to her back before the three of them headed out and made their way to the Battle Dome.

----------

Ryoulon's turn was up. She got ready stretching a few times and cracked her knuckles before she walked into the middle of the arena. The usual crowd was cheering, eagerly awaiting a good fight. Ryoulon was by no means the best of the Dome, but several NeoPets that frequented the Dome on Sundays knew her by know and that she often put up very good fights.

She smiled. To say the truth, she loved this, having the crowd cheer her, especially once she had won the match. Only once in her life had she lost a match and she didn't liked it one bit. She wasn't a sore loser, but that didn't meant she liked to lose either. Who does?

She saw the doors on the opposite side of the Dome open and was greeted with a nasty surprise as the three dark NeoPets she had fought the day before showed up.

"You!" Both parties exclaimed at the same time, pointing at each other as well.

"Well well, I didn't expected to find you here, but I guess we can now have a clean match," Karen sneered.

"Just how different would that be from yesterday out in the open?" Ryoulon smiled cockily.

"Hush!" Karen snapped.

"Either way," the Shoyru shook her head, "Surely you realize I'm at a disadvantage here as three versus one."

"I'll fight with you," Rena walked forward, standing to the left of Ryoulon.

"Are you sure?" Ryoulon asked, turning around to look at her lover in the eyes. "I mean, you aren't much of a fighter after all," she was worried for her in the end.

"Yeah," the Acara nodded with confidence. "At least I can use a spell or two to help you."

"Alright," Ryoulon looked back at their enemies. She nodded at them before taking a few steps back. She grabbed her sabre with her right paw and the shield with the left. It looked like her opponents were going to protest, but Ryoulon instead just tossed the sword high into the air, spinning for a few moments before it landed, edge down thrusting into the ground a meter behind her and then tossed the shield against the sword, making the strap hang around the handle of the weapon.

The crowd cheered as she, as well as the other four contestants, entered into a battle pose of sorts.

"It's on!" She yelled before kicking off from the ground and diving forward with a flap of her wings just half a meter above the ground. Both Karen and Lang also rushed forward, with Maya and Rena staying behind the three fighters.

The Acara placed both paws together, making a triangle with them before mumbling a few words with her eyes closed, she brought her paws one against the other before opening them in the direction of Ryoulon and snapping open her eyes, making a small green-hued barrier quickly surround and disappear around Ryoulon. Lang, the Gelert, gaining speed over the Wocky tried a shoulder tackle against the airborne Shoyru, who easily flipped over with a quick touch of the ground to break the momentum of her flight. Landing on the other side, she rapidly delivered a side kick to the Gelert, pushing it away and into the floor.

At the same time Karen had reached the Ryoulon and dipped into the floor while spinning with a leg stretched, trying to knock over the lesser dragoness. Ryoulon wasn't able to completely evade the attack as she tumbled into the floor, but she managed to roll before landing head-first into it, avoiding at the very least a full impact to her face.

Quickly getting up with a small jump she noticed some electricity dwelling up above her head but paid them no attention as the shield Rena had cast on her reacted before the focused lightning fired up and instead was reflected to the original caster, Maya the Eyrie who got partly stung, but not completely burn by it as she tried to move away.

Lang was already up and going back for the Shoyru as the Wocky decided it would be best to tackle the Acara in the back, who had just lifted a magical shield on herself as well. Before Lang got into distance for an attack, the Shoyru had already started her own as she sent a straight left jab, followed by a right-to-left swing with her right fist. Both attacks were easily blocked, but the Shoyru kept spinning in her momentum as she elbowed the Gelert in the face with her left arm, catching him by surprise. He received the hit in the temple of his head which sent him backing away a few steps as he tried to regain his senses while shaking his head.

The cyan cat-hybrid was fending off every attack aimed at her with a skill she didn't even knew she possessed. She wasn't sure how she was doing this, but it was becoming rather easy to avoid or block the attacks of the assailing Wocky. While they still hurt, it was better than a full, direct hit. Karen, to say the least, was starting to get a bit mad inside, as she hadn't been able to land even one single good hit on the Acara.

"Grah!" She somewhat yelled as she charged forward with a full-strength right jab to the front which Rena barely sidestepped, but her right foot caught the Wocky's feet and she tripped, making Rena also lose some of her balance, but she didn't fell completely.

Ryoulon had seen those events, and as Rena looked back at her lover, she simply shrugged with a smile. The dragoness quickly shifted her gaze around and looked at Maya the Eyrie not sure on what to do. Seizing the opportunity, she brought her right paw to her mouth with her index finger up before mumbling several words, and soon enough a lightning bolt materialized over the Eyrie, who tried to move away but was stung in her right shoulder, making her gasp in pain.

The Eyrie was going to try to get back for that, at the very least, and as soon as she had been attacked, the Shoyru had diverted her gaze again to check on her partner. She lost no time as she clasped both paws together with the index and middle fingers extended, closed her eyes, and concentrated for a second. Opening her eyes, she materialized a sudden, but powerful stream of water from below the Shoyru, who was sent flying up.

Had she not the ability to fly, the fall would have hurt a lot, but she managed to recover herself mid-air and started to fly back down, before arching a bit and starting to head in a straight line against the Eyrie.

_Oh, damn! _The Eyrie panicked a bit, and she started to send direct, small jet streams of water at the incoming Shoyru. Ryoulon barrel-rolled to the right evading the first stream, gained a bit of altitude while still moving right to avoid another, for the third one she made a complete u-turn and then started to move to the left as she also had to evade Lang's streams as well. Without too much effort she finally managed to attack the Eyrie, who couldn't do anything but take the direct nail kick to her stomach. She was sent sprawling onto the floor at least two or three meters away with an "Uff!" as she clutched her stomach after the hit.

Rena might not be a natural fighter, but she was an Acara, a female Acara at that, so she knew a few moves in order to at the very least defend herself but she was not very keen on using them for the most part, but this was one of those exceptions. She ran forward, while standing in her hind legs only and as soon as she was in range with the Wocky, she spun while diving forward. Pressing both front paws against the floor after the spin, she was now giving her backside to the dark cat who was surprised to say the least, and before she knew it, the Acara had jumped backwards using her front legs, slamming the Wocky with her hind legs right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her but she managed to stay upright.

The cyan cat-hybrid was not done yet though, she was going to repay for her necklace. Losing no time, she quickly stood up again before charging forward reading her claws. She swiped with her right one at the Wocky's face, a second left swipe came but the Wocky managed to stop her paw and rammed her with her right shoulder. With the recoil of the hit, Rena had little time to react to the incoming right jab at her, which nailed her a little over her chest. A left jab quickly followed that got her in the right shoulder. A third blow was already coming, but she managed to duck, barely missing contact with her head before she raised again with a right uppercut. Karen stumbled for a second as she staggered backwards...

"Take this!" Rena yelled as she delivered one of her fiercest punches ever into the Wocky's face, "And this!" She quickly followed with another one to her shoulder, "This is for my necklace!" She delivered two other fists. Her arms were hurting, they were bruised and not used to this kind of torture, but she didn't minded the pain as she kept going. "This is for making me almost choke!" She hit her in the stomach twice, making the Wocky arch forward. "And this is for trying to ruin my relationship with Ryoulon!" She spun in her place with her right leg out delivering a full, spinning, mercyless round-hose kick into the face of the dark cat, completely knocking her out cold and into the floor as the crowd sheered.

Ryoulon was doing the literal definition of flying kicks as she kept herself afloat with small, steady and controlled beats from her wings while kicking the Gelert one and again and again, though he blocked most of the hits, it was still a rather impressive sight. The Gelert dropped his guard thinking he had a clean shot at her, but realized otherwise when he felt a full, right spinning kick on his head which made him tumble to the side a bit, but the real one was the straight left kick he got in the face, sending him to the floor.

He quickly rolled backwards and stood up before dashing forward and mimicking the maneuver Rena had done before of supporting herself on her front legs to kick with her hind ones. The Gelert only did it faster and Ryoulon had little to no time to react as she received the hit at around the height of her stomach and was sent away in an arch against the floor.

The dog somersaulted before landing with all four with an enormous strength into the floor as Ryoulon managed to roll away in time. She spun in the floor, using her arms for leverage to avoid some of the friction and easily swiped Lang off his feet, making him dive into the floor.

He lost no time in getting up before seeing the Shoyru charging at him. He acted mostly on instinct as he suddenly delivered three quick jabs against the dragoness, breaking her off her run before jumping away in order to avoid a sudden spinning kick aimed at her face. As the Gelert was spinning from the motion she quickly seized the chance she had to grab him by the sides and lifted him a few meters, around three or four before starting to dive. The Gelert tried to break his grasp but couldn't do much due to the height as it somewhat distracted him, but before he knew it he was down in the floor with the Shoyru atop him with nail kick, pressing him into the floor. He went wide-eyed for one more time before losing his consciousness.

Ryoulon stepped off before diving against the Eyrie who covered her face with her arms. "Wait! I give up!" She yelled. She was in no position to fight, not against that Shoyru, much less the Shoyru and the Acara. She lowered her face, still covering it with her arms, she was in the Dome after all, there's no reason to be mercyfull against your opponents there and she expected the worst as she saw the shadow of the Shoyru creep closing to her, but walking instead of a flying dive. She sobbed once and looked up as she didn't noticed her move anymore and was awe-struck in disbelief as she was met by a smile from the dragoness, but not an evil smile, rather a very genuine and peaceful smile. "Wh-why are you smiling like that?"

"Calm down," Ryoulon squatted down as Rena approached them, standing besides her girlfriend. "You already feigned, I'm not going to attack you. I do want to know one thing... What do the three of you have against us?"

"Do you, by any chance, have something about romances like ours?" Rena asked, frowning.

"I... I don't really know... She might kill me for this, but a long time ago Karen lost a very dear friend of her because of the feelings her friend had for her, and not long after that she started to change into this other self of her, always expressing her thoughts and hates. Lang is very easily influenced and followed suit..." The Eyrie seemed a bit more relaxed, as if a weight the size of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She took a deep breath, "I was never one for being too social, and I used to know them long ago, when they were actually good and didn't go around picking fights... I just try to bring them back into reason again..."

"Well, regardless of the fact, how do we know you won't be trying to come against us again after this whole ordeal?" Ryoulon asked.

"I'll try harder. Maybe I can finally get some sense into them after this fight, but I don't think I can really do much more than that," Maya said with a sigh. The crowd was starting to leave as the break between fights was going to begin and it would be about thirty minutes before the next one.

"Better than nothing I guess... I'm sorry we all had to go through all of this," Ryoulon said, extending her right paw forward at the Eyrie, who dumb-struck took it with a slight smile.

"Thanks for being so understanding."

"Just, really try... Please," Rena said as she heaved a sigh before smiling at the Eyrie.

The couple started heading back, leaving Maya and the other two in the middle of the Dome. Ryoulon picked up her Sabre and Shield on the way and fastened them around her back. The fight had been long, it was rough, and both were very tired, as well as severely bruised. Both girls, as well as Alan, started to make their way out of the Dome. Maya looked at her friends once, then into the walking trio and mouthed a silent "Sorry," as they left her sight.

----------

Ryoulon literally break into the house in a sprint. "I so need to take a loooong bath," she sighed. "I'm exhausted," she said before entering her room to leave her Sabre and Shield.

"That's two of us already," Rena followed the dragoness.

"I'll leave you two alone them, I have to check on some things outside," Alan said as he waved goodbye, a movement mimicked by the two girls as he left the house.

They hoped this strange ruse had finally finished, but either way, the only thing they looked forward to now was relaxing in their bath together and do nothing for the rest of the day...

----------

Ryoulon had her diary open in her desk and a pen in her right hand, scrawling at the surface of the book.

_Who would have thought love could be this full of surprises? While I can still remember how things went through three months ago when we first met, I didn't expected things like this to happen. While I knew I wasn't in the majority of the population, being a girl with a romantic relationship to another girl after all, I never knew people had something against that, much less personal reasons..._

_I already learned not to stay silent all of my life, to say what's in my heart rather than lose the opportunity, but this time... This time, I thought about that again. I have the freedom to do so, but not everyone will share the same opinion than me. There are some who are afraid of things they might, or might not understand, or things that don't seem normal under society's standards, but still, my love life is something people should not mess with, or anyone else's for that matter._

_The feelings of other people in these matters shouldn't get to you. I fell in love with another girl, and I'm happy with that, if other NeoPets are afraid or don't share that same way of thinking I do, well, they can either accept me for that, or just loathe, in which case I can't do much, but one shouldn't judge others for things like these... Especially love._

_There are many kinds of persons and NeoPets in this world, and we are bound to cross our paths in the worst of ways, but that's what life is about. Growing up and learning to cope with all the things life throws at us. I, myself, am happy with Rena and I'm not going to let anyone else have a say in that. _

_I want to close this with one last thing, cherish what you have, for you never know when something might happen, regardless of the severity, if you love someone, make sure they know, if you appreciate someone's company, let them know. You never know what life has in store, but finding out is only half the fun!_

* * *

Finally, from _What Stands Between..._ to _What Stands Between Love..._ My second completed "Remastered" project and the sequel to my first "Remastered" story, _The Love of a Girl_. 

I hope this turned out better than the original (Well, it is for me). The thing I love the most about these two stories are those personal messages in the end Ryoulon writes. Feel free to leave comments, I more than gladly welcome them.

Without further ado, I bid you farewell. Hope you liked this story!

Alan "Gray Fox" Quirino - grayfox2510 (at) gmail (dot) com


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